This month Celeste and María consider stories that examine issues of hunger, poverty and homelessness. In each of the stories, the characters are represented in a dignified and respectful manner. This week, they discuss The Lunch Thief, written by Anne C. Bromley and illustrated by Robert Casilla.
Malala Activist for Girls’ Education and For the Right to Learn
By Seemi Aziz, The University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ
Most of the books mentioned in the first week of this series on books about Malala Yousafzai were submitted for book awards and considered distinctly above and beyond the run on the mill books that frame the Malala rhetoric by at least the publishers. Each story has the same narrative with various distinctions and have varied illustration distinctions. Malala story’s attraction is undeniable in all of the texts. Her being shot and surviving gives credence to the story as the girl who lived to use her incident to further her cause.
MTYT: Maddi’s Fridge
By Celeste Trimble, St. Martin’s University, Lacey, WA and María Acevedo-Aquino, Texas A&M University-San Antonio, San Antonio, TX
This month Celeste and María look carefully at stories that examine issues of hunger, poverty and homelessness. In each of the stories, the characters are represented in a dignified and respectful manner. They begin with Maddi’s Fridge, written by Lois Brandt and illustrated by Vin Vogel.
Malala Yousafzai In Books for Children
By Seemi Aziz, The University of Arizona, Tucson
Since Malala Yousafzai, a Pakistani heroine who propagates education for women, hit the world stage there has been a huge spotlight on her life and activities globally, especially captured and projected in the arena of children’s books. Her near-death experience at the hands of the Taliban sets her story apart in more ways than one. Her dramatic entry into the global narrative reinforces concerns of women’s oppression and lack of education in Muslim countries and takes it to whole new level. Continue reading
WOW Recommends: The Turnaway Girls
The Turnaway Girls by Hayley Chewins follows Delphernia Undersea, a 12-year-old who has a serious problem: she is unable to create shimmer from the music played by the boys from outside the cloister. Yet, Delphernia lives in a cloister with other girls who can produce the shimmer, which will give them a chance to leave the cloister if chosen by one of the outside Masters. The other girls have another attribute Delphernia lacks: the ability to be silent. But with her singing come the birds, and with the birds come thoughts of escape. Delphernia receives an unexpected opportunity to leave the cloister after she is chosen by a most peculiar Master. She must instantly decide: leave with a Master who comes to the skydoor and to a new world in Blightsend or remain in the cloister and the safety of its rock walls and her beloved birds? The decision she makes has the potential to make or unmake her as well as all those in Blightsend. Continue reading
MTYT: Dreamers
By Violet Henderson and Mary Fahrenbruck, New Mexico State University
Mary and Violet continue to provide their takes on the 2019 Pura Belpré award winners and honor books. This week, they look at Dreamers by Yuyi Morales. The book was awarded the 2019 Pura Belpré Illustrator Award.
Italicizing Non-English Words: The Case of Spanish in Picturebooks
By María V. Acevedo, Texas A&M University-San Antonio, San Antonio, TX
With Rebecca Ballenger, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ
I read out loud All Around Us, by Xelena Gonzalez, illustrated by Adriana García, to a class of undergraduate students. When I read, “We eat what we’ve grown-crunchy lettuce, sweet carrots and spicy chiles,” one of my students said, “I love your Spanish accent.” Chiles is the only Spanish word in this picturebook and it is not italicized. The student’s comment made me think of picturebooks that highlight non-English words in one way or another and the implications of this practice to fictional characters and readers.
MTYT: They Call Me Güero
By Violet Henderson and Mary Fahrenbruck, New Mexico State University
Mary and Violet continue to provide their takes on the 2019 Pura Belpré award winners and honor books. This week, they look at They Call Me Güero: A Border Kid’s Poems by David Bowles. The book won the Pura Belpré Honor Award for Authors for 2019.
Latinx Picturebook Artists and Muralists
By María V. Acevedo, Texas A&M University-San Antonio, San Antonio, TX
For centuries, muralists from around the world have made art public and accessible for the people. From cavern painting during the Upper Paleolithic times to contemporary graffiti in the streets of Santurce, Puerto Rico, murals have made children, youth and adults stop, notice, think and even act. This post explores the power of murals and muralists in Latinx picturebooks.
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MTYT: The Poet X
By Violet Henderson and Mary Fahrenbruck, New Mexico State University
Mary and Violet continue to provide their takes on the 2019 Pura Belpré award winners and honor books. This week, they look at The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo. This book is Acevedo’s debut novel and won the Pura Belpré Author Award for 2019.
